Flower Crowns and Fairytales

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Saturday, 26 March 2016

Music is one of my favourite things in the world. I think my most peaceful moments are sat in my room late at night with just my fairy lights on, listening to music and just thinking. Being able to block out the rest of the world and just listen is such a beautiful feeling. So, here is a list of my all-time favourite albums in the order of when I listened to them.

Saturday, 12 March 2016

Harry Potter made me discover what reading could truly be. I've loved reading and writing from a very young age and there are countless books I loved as a child, but Harry Potter was the one that completely filled me with passion. I created a fan account to look at fanfiction, fanart, and headcannons. I would discuss the characters and events with my school friends and people on Twitter half way around the world. Despite being about magic and wizards, the characters and the world of Harry Potter seemed so painstakingly real. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

The Book ThiefRead: December 2012, age 14

As a writer, The Book Thief was very inspirational to me as it made me realise my love for my words in a new light. Zusak's prose was poetic and lyrical, and it made me realise that it isn't just plot and characters that can be beautiful, but the actual way a book is written as well. It kind of changed the way I write. This being said, the plot and characters also makes this one of my top 3 books of all time. It was the first book that made me full on, uncontrollably weep. It broke my heart, but it is absolutely wonderful.

Paper TownsRead: 2013, age 14

I will admit that I didn't particularly love Paper Towns and only rated it 3 stars. However, it would have been a lot less if this book hadn't changed my way of thinking. Whilst the plot and characters fell flat for me, there was one scene that made me truly think about life for the first time, which was this:"Every moment of your life is lived for the future - you go to high school so you can go to college so you can get a good job so that you can get a nice house so you can afford to send your kids to college so they can get a good job so they can get a nice house so they can afford to send their kids to college."

This kind of fucked up my innocent 14 year old mind. I suddenly began considering why I was alive and was on the verge of an existential crisis. Luckily, now I've kind of remedied this (although of course we all grapple with existentialism every once in a while), but I'm thankful to this book for making me think deeper than I ever had before.

Where Rainbows End Read: July 2014, age 15

and

Me Before YouRead: February 2016, age 17

I decided to group these two books together as they both kind of gave me the same kind of inspiration, which is the realisation that life is short and that I should live it to the full. I literally only finished Me Before You the morning that I'm writing this so I can't say what affect it had on my life, but Where Rainbows End certainly stayed with me for months afterwards.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseRead: July 2014, age 16

This is also one of my favourite books of all time! This book taught me that sexuality doesn't matter as much as love, and it is more fluid than we think. And then, a year later, I was coming out as bi to my friends so perhaps this subconsciously gave me the encouragement I needed.

Since You've Been Gone

Read: August 2014, age 16

I read this book the summer before I started a new college (year 12-13, not university) full of new people. Only about 5 of my friends from secondary school where going to the same one. This book was really helpful as it was about a protagonist going up against her shyness to experience new things which was very influential to me. It taught me to grab opportunities and made me more excited about new people and life in general.

The HumansRead: January 2015, age 16

I've often thought about what humanity can be, and this book perfectly highlighted the positives of humans and the little or big things we do for each other. It gave me a further appreciation for the kind people I have met throughout my life.

The Colour PurpleRead: Feburary 2016, age 17

As a biromantic feminist of colour, this book was extremely important to me as it featured such a glorious range of female characters. It was the perfect reminder of why feminism matters and why women need to stick together. I'm both surprised and not that this book is a classic. Surprised because I didn't think such a large proportion of the population would be interested in the struggles and relationships featured in this book. But not, because it is utterly wonderful and deserves every bit of praise it gets.

Saturday, 5 March 2016

Spring is on it's way which can only mean one thing - time for another wishlist! I love making these because although my bank account doesn't allow for the wardrobe I want, I can create my own virtual wardrobe where I can keep forever in my heart those items which didn't make it into the shopping basket. I hope you enjoy!

Bomber jackets have made a comeback to fulfill our 90s sports luxe dreams. My favourites are definitely the embroidered ones such as on the left, but unfortunately they seem to be selling out faster than tickets to Beyonce's world tour. (Ok, a bit of an exaggeration there, but you know what I mean.) Some of my favourite outfits featuring bomber jackets are Leanne Woodfull's from New Look and Pretty Sickly's from Asos.

I've been wanting a pinafore for a while as they're a really simple way to create a really cool outfit. I especially like the blue denim ones (I saw an amazing ripped, raw edge one somewhere but I couldn't find it for this post unfortunately), but there are some fab embroidered and colourful ones out there too.

Guaranteed from a hat veteran - wearing a hat is the easiest way to get compliments. I only one - a gorgeous burgundy bowler hat - but every time I wear it I get at least 3 compliments and a couple of people wanting to try it on every time I wear it! (This said, the people wanting to try it on can be a bit problematic when you're trying to cover up a bad hair day).

I have loved playsuits for ages, and a good floral playsuit is just what you need for the spring and summer months. They look so pretty and they're totally worth the struggle of have to strip down when going to the loo.

Monday, 29 February 2016

Awards season is always an exciting time for fashion. After every awards show you can find me trawling through red carpet feeds to see all the outfits everyone has been wearing. Since it was the Oscars last night (ayyy Leo finally won!!), I thought I'd make a post featuring my favourite awards season looks so far!

Mini Disclaimer: Ok I know it isn't really necessary to say this but as a feminist I of course value these women's talents far more than their dress sense! However, as someone who loves fashion I love looking at all the dresses at these shows so that's what I have chosen to focus on in this post rather than the amazing works they have produced! I just wanted to say this as I know it can be super irritating when on red carpets and in interviews women are only asked about fashion and beauty hahah :)

Selena Gomez at the Grammys wearing Calvin Klein.

Little Mix at the Brits.

Adele at the Brits wearing Valentino.

Well done on winning four Brits! (Best British female solo artist, Best album, Best British single, and Global success award).

Sunday, 21 February 2016

With fashion week in full swing, I thought I'd do a post on my favourite designers of all time. These looks are my favourites from various different seasons, but ones that have always stuck in my mind. 5. Alberta Ferretti

Alberta Ferretti is quite a recent discovery, after I saw Imogen Poots wearing the dress on the left at the 2015 Met Gala and instantly fell in love. Her use of lace, sheer, and embroidery is beautiful.

4.Hamda Al Fahim

Hamda Al Fahim seems to be a designer for the fae. She is a fairly new designer and she has said she believes "that a dress should be something a woman would fantasize about." and her dresses do just that. Her startlingly beautiful use embroidery, material, and colour makes me want to galavant around a forest like a woodland fairie queen.

3. Elie Saab

Elie Saab is the first designer who caught my attention about three or four years ago. I've always been interested in fashion, but I hadn't particularly looked to the catwalks of haute couture until I saw some of the designs of Elie Saab. I was in awe of the sparkles and flowing skirts that looked like they belonged in nothing less than a live action Disney princess film. I rushed to Pinterest to pore over the gorgeous designs of Saab, and the obsession began.

2. Paolo Sebastian

Just look up Paolo Sebastian's The Sleeping Garden and The Nightingale collections and you'll understand.

1. Valentino

Valentino will forever be my favourite designer. Trying to choose only three images to include in this post was so hard, as I saved about twenty in preparation for this post. He often incorporates space and nature into his designs in the most gorgeous and fascinating ways to create dresses infused with constellations and skirts fashioned from clouds. If I ever become super rich and famous I will live in Valentino. Now that I think about it, I might go back to Pinterest and Tumblr to look at some more of his designs...I hope you enjoyed this post! Who are some of your favourite designers?Misha, x

Saturday, 9 January 2016

On those days when it seems impossible to find anything to wear, it is important to look for inspiration, and celebrity street style is the provides the perfect resource! Here are a few of my favourites :)

1. Vanessa Hudgens

Vanessa Hudgens is definitely my fave when it comes to personal style. Everything she wears is so gorgeous! She has so many different looks, but I especially love when she mixes pretty girly pieces with something a bit more edgy, as that is the kind of look I try to achieve myself.

2. Amandla Stenberg

Amandla Stenberg is best known for her role as Rue in the Hunger Games and her online activism for issues such as feminism and anti-racism, and her Instagram account is a hidden gem for fashion inspiration. I love how she wears cute and quirky outfits as featured above, as well as bright colours and patterns which you can see on her instagram. (@amandlastenburg).

3. Suki Waterhouse

Suki Waterhouse has such a gorgeous style, her outfits are so well put together with some gorgeous and unique pieces thrown in.

4. Alexa Chung

Alexa Chung features in the majority of style inspiration blog posts and articles, so I was unsure whether to feature her. But then I decided to search her name on Pinterest. I always knew she was a massive style icon but I've never really researched her before, and now I see there's a reason why! I've got to admit, choosing only four pictures for this post was pretty difficult.

Sunday, 3 January 2016

Over the past couple of days I have been greatly enjoying reading everyone's 2015 round-ups and 2016 resolutions so I thought I would do a post of my own!

It's safe to say 2015 has been the best year of my life so far, and I'm interested to see whether 2016 will be even better! 2015 was so amazing because it was a great year of personal growth. I truly became happy with my personality and looks, I realised what I value and who I want to be, created and developed amazing friendships, and learnt more about the world and people around me. Plus I had some amazing experiences such as: Going away with my friends to London and meeting the Hunger Games cast at the Mockingjay Part 2 Premiere; Going to the Yorkshire Wildlife Park on the last day of college; Going on a couple of weekends away with my friends; and getting offers from all the universities I'm interested in!

Whilst 2015 was a year of growth, I believe 2016 will be a year of expression. Last year, I realised that what I truly valued was optimism and kindness, and I believe these things have become a central part of my personality. However, due to the fact I'm so shy it seems all this wonderful positive thinking only happens in my head! Therefore, my main two resolutions are to express my optimism and compliment people out loud instead of just in my head.

I am also very passionate about social issues such as feminism, anti-racism, and advocating for the lgbtq+ community. Unfortunately, whenever someone says something that doesn't sit right with my values, I'm too shy to say anything and often end up just agreeing with them due to my fear of conflict. Therefore, another resolution which is extremely important to me is to start standing up for my beliefs, and I really hope I achieve this!

2016 is going to be an especially big year for me because I turn 18 and go off to university, so I suppose another goal for me is to: a) actually get into university, and b) enjoy my experience, meet loads of new people, and join societies.

For the past three years, I've also done a memory jar (or memory shoebox in my case), in which every time something good happens I write it down and put it in the box. Last year I wrote down 137 and I loved reading them all on New Year's Eve so hopefully this year I write even more! Have any of you guys done a memory jar?

I'd be really interested to read some of your favourite events of 2015 and your goals for 2016. Thanks for reading!